Patrick Huard | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Patrick Huard

Patrick Huard, comedian, actor, writer, director, producer (born 2 January 1969 in Montreal, QC). Dynamic and charming, Patrick Huard is a multi-talented artist who has enjoyed great success in front of and behind the camera, as well as on stage and radio. One of Canada’s and Quebec’s biggest stars, he has appeared in some of the country’s highest-grossing films, including Les Boys (1997) and its two sequels; the record-breaking, Genie Award-winning comedy Bon Cop Bad Cop (2006), which he also co-wrote; his feature directorial debut, Les 3 p’tits cochons (2007); and Starbuck (2011). He has also starred in several successful Quebec TV series, including the hugely popular Taxi 0-22 (2007–10), which he also produced and directed. He has won numerous awards for his stand-up comedy and comedy writing, and has hosted several Juste pour rire galas, the Gala de l’ADISQ and the Soirée des Jutra (now Prix Iris), as well as several radio programs.

Early Comedy Career

Huard launched his career at age 19 when he co-wrote and acted in an educational short film, La violence c'est pas pour moi (1988). He returned to the stage in the comedy Les voisins by Claude Meunier and Louis Saia, and then discovered his passion for comedy with his first performance in Les lundis Juste pour rire.

In 1990, he enrolled at the École nationale de l'humour and in 1991 he began touring with Découvertes Juste pour rire. He performed in more than 100 Juste pour rire shows throughout Quebec. His career as a comedian took off in 1991 when he was named Discovery of the Year at the Festival Juste pour rire. He became a scriptwriter for the Radio-Canada show Métropolis (1991), hosted the Radio-Canada radio series C’est juste une farce (1993), landed a role in André Dubois’s television series Là tu parles (1993–95) and received an enthusiastic reception across Quebec as the opening act for comedian Michel Courtemanche.

Encouraged by the positive response to his work, Huard wrote and performed in his first solo show in 1994. It was a resounding success, earning him 1995 Félix Awards for Comedy Show of the Year and Scriptwriter of the Year. He also hosted the 1995 ADISQ Gala. At the next ADISQ gala, he won a Triple Platinum Ticket Award for selling more than 300,000 tickets to his one-man show, which ran for more than 400 performances.

Film and Television Career

Huard had a breakthrough year in 1998. He received the Prix Luce-Guilbeault for most promising actor from the Rendez-vous du cinéma québécoisfor his feature film debut alongside Roy Dupuis in Claude Fournier’s J’en suis! (1997). He followed this with a delightful turn in Louis Saïa’s hugely successful Les Boys (1997). The comedy about a beer league hockey team made over $6 million at the box office and won the Golden Reel Genie Award and Billet d’or Prix Jutra (now Prix Iris) as the year’s highest-grossing film in Canada and Quebec, respectively. Huard’s roles in the similarly successful sequels, Les Boys II (1998) and Les Boys III (2001), as well as parts in Micheline Lanctôt’s 1999 television adaptation of Eric Bogosian’s play Talk Radio and Denys Arcand’s Stardom (2000), helped solidify his status as a household name in Quebec.

He received Prix Jutra and Genie Award nominations for his supporting performance in La vie après l'amour (2000) and appeared in the comedies Comment ma mère accoucha de moi durant sa ménopause (2003) and Nez rouge (2003). He made his dramatic debut opposite Michel Côté in Éric Tessier’s Sur le seuil (2003), and co-starred in the ensemble drama Monica la mitraille (2004) and the comedic drama Maman last call (2005).

He then enjoyed one of his biggest successes to date, co-writing and co-starring opposite Colm Feore in Érik Canuel’s record-breaking comedy Bon Cop Bad Cop (2006), which won the Genie Award for Best Motion Picture and the Golden Reel Award as the year’s highest-grossing film in Canada (it is one of the highest-grossing domestic film in Canadian history). Huard also won a Canadian Comedy Award for the screenplay and was nominated for a Genie Award for his lead performance.

Through all his success in film, Huard has continued to work steadily in television, which has contributed to his high profile in Quebec. He has played a wide variety of characters in such Radio-Canada series as Music Hall (2001–02), Fortier (2004), Au nom de la loi (2005) and Cover Girl (2005). He hosted the Just for Laughs galas from 2002 to 2005, and the Prix Jutra gala in 2005. He also directed a Just for Laughs gala and the opening show for the 2003 FrancoFolies de Montreal.

His feature directorial debut, Les 3 p’tits cochons (2007), was a box-office smash in Quebec, winning both the Golden Reel Genie Award and Billet d’or Prix Jutra. He also enjoyed tremendous success as an easy-going, fast-talking taxi driver in the highly popular TVA comedy series Taxi 0-22 (2007–09), which he also produced and directed. The role earned Huard Artis Awards for Actor in a Comedy Program (2008, 2009) and Male Personality of the Year (2009, 2010), as well as multiple Prix Gemeaux nominations and a win in 2010 for Best Actor in a Leading Comedy Role. The series reportedly drew around 1 million viewers per week and attracted the interest of American actor James Gandolfini, who attempted to develop and star in an American version of the show.

Huard enjoyed another box office smash with Ken Scott’s Starbuck (2011), which won audience awards at numerous international film festivals and both the Golden Reel Award and Billet d’or Prix Jutra as Canada’s and Quebec’s highest-grossing film of the year. Huard also landed Genie Award and Prix Jutra nominations for Best Actor.

He starred in Daniel Roby’s slick 1970s drama Funkytown (2011), co-starred opposite Michel Côté in Luc Dionne’s Omertà (2012), played a supporting role in Xavier Dolan’s critically acclaimed and multiple award-winning Mommy (2014) and starred in Philippe Falardeau’s political satire Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre (My Internship in Canada, 2015), which received the Public Award at TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival in 2016. He also wrote and co-starred with Colm Feore in the sequel Bon Cop Bad Cop 2 (2017) and earned a Prix Iris nomination for his performance.

Other Activities

Huard has produced, directed and appeared in TV commercials for Le Journal de Montréal, the most widely-circulated newspaper in Quebec, and hosted the radio show Tout le monde debout on CIEL FM. He toured Quebec with his second one-man show, Face à Face, from 2001 to 2003, and directed two music videos for Éric Lapointe in 2002 and 2005. Huard has also written lyrics for singers such as Lynda Lemay. He was a judge on the TVA reality show Star Académie in 2009 and 2012, and toured Quebec with his third one-man show, Le Bonheur, in 2012.

Charitable Involvements

In spite of his full schedule, Patrick Huard finds time to help fight poverty in Montreal. He has been a spokesperson for the Breakfast Club, which provides breakfasts for over 20,000 disadvantaged schoolchildren in Montreal.

Awards

  • Discovery of the Year, Festival Juste pour rire (1991)
  • Comedy Show of the Year, Félix Awards (1995)
  • Scriptwriter of the Year, Félix Awards (1995)
  • ADISQ Triple Platinum Ticket, Félix Awards (1996)
  • Prix Luce-Guilbeault (J’en suis), Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois (1998)
  • Pretty Funny Film Writing (Bon Cop Bad Cop), Canadian Comedy Awards (2007)
  • Actor in a Comedy Program (Taxi 0-22), Artis Awards (2008, 2009)
  • Male Personality of the Year, Artis Awards (2009, 2010)
  • Best Actor in a Leading Role: Comedy (Taxi 0-22), Prix Gémeaux (2010)
  • Best Actor (Starbuck), Valladolid International Film Festival (2011)